The British daily Financial Times (FT) reported on the 19th that Dubai chocolate has become popular, leading to a shortage of pistachios around the world and a surge in prices.
The price of pistachios, which was $7.65 a pound a year ago, is now up 35% at $10.30, according to nut trader CG Hacking.
Dubai Chocolate was launched in 2021 by Pix, a chocolate maker from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The chocolate was filled with a mixture of cardif and pistachio cream, and a video of “Eating Show” posted on TikTok by a influencer in the UAE at the end of 2023 drew global attention with more than 100 million views.
Since then, other manufacturers have released similar products one after another, and Dubai chocolate is selling like hot cakes even at high prices. The Dubai-style chocolate released by Swiss company Lint costs £10 in the UK, with a 145g product costing more than twice the consumer price of other chocolate bars.
Last year’s sluggish crop in the U.S., the largest exporter of pistachios, also affected inventories. U.S. supplies of pistachios in California fell 20 percent in the past year through February this year from the previous year.
According to the customs statistics of Iran, the second-largest exporter, pistachios exported to the UAE in the six months to March this year were 40% more than in the previous year.
Behrouz Agach, director of Iran’s Pistachio Association, said, “It is a completely different phenomenon from oversupply in 2023,” adding, “A variety of side products such as pistachio butter and oil have emerged,” adding, “It is almost the same time as Dubai chocolate has spread around the world.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
